Religious Studies Writing
The Question of Ethics in African Rites of Passage: Maasai Female Circumcision
18 November 2016
This research paper was written for an introductory religion course on African religions that I took in the fall of 2016. The assignment was to write a 5-6 page research paper on a topic in African religions that sparked my interest during the semester. This could include topics from themes such as rituals, leadership, gender, power, ethical perspectives on health, death, the environment, religion and politics, violence, Islamic influence, revitalization of Christianity in Africa, and more. A helpful guideline that was included was information which stated that we needed to consult at least six published sources in addition to online sources. Papers that were based mainly on information found on internet portals were to be taken as a sign that we did not do sufficient research for the paper, and would result in a grade less than average.
The topic that I chose to explore in my paper was the ritual of female circumcision that occurred in the Maasai tribe of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. I addressed the question of whether or not it is right for the Maasai to continue this practice. I approached the question using two approaches: a cultural relativist perspective and a moral Universalist perspective. The first perspective would answer yes to this question because of the belief that every society has a right to cultural self-determination. The second perspective, however, would answer no to this question because of the belief that every person possesses basic human rights such as “freedom from physical injury and from threat to personal health.” I basically ended by paper by siding with the moral Universalist perspective that no, the Maasai tribe should not continue its practice of female circumcision.
This paper demonstrates my ability to address an ethical question using multiple approaches in order to come to an ultimate conclusion that makes sense. Relativism and Universalism are two different approaches to the study of religion. By naming and using both of these perspectives in my paper, I was able to address the ritual of female circumcision more fully. This reflects a new awareness that I have about writing, particularly in the field of religious studies. It is important to take into account the multiple ways of thinking that exist when addressing an ethical issue. I believe this showcases one of my goals as a writer, which is to ensure that I do not write a paper utilizing only one particular viewpoint. Or, that if I do, I at least name the viewpoint that I am coming from and address others that may exist.
Explication of John 10.1-18
December 1 2014
This short paper assignment was written for an introductory religion course on the Bible that I took in the fall of 2014. The assignment was to pick a passage in the Bible from a provided list and write a 3-4 page explication of what I believed I needed to know in order to try to understand fully the meaning of the passage by a formal process. A helpful guideline that was provided was a framework that included questions that we were expected to answer in our paper. A few of these questions were: who are the actors/protagonists? What actions/dialogue are taking place? What is presupposed about the audience or what the audience knows? What is unique about the setting? And, does the narrator disclose a meaning? Another helpful guideline was to take a look at the marginal notes that were provided in the Access Bible, which was our textbook for the course, as well as to look at one-volume commentaries that could be accessed in the library reference area.
The Bible verse that I chose to assess was John 10.1-18. Since the assignment was to write an explication, I closely analyzed this passage in an attempt to reveal its meaning. I also answered all of the questions that were provided in Prof. Hoglund’s guideline. This paper contributes to the field of Biblical studies by providing a close and detailed analysis of a short passage in John. Important questions were answered in my analysis which could be used by Biblical scholars to help define the meaning of the passage. For instance, one thing I revealed in my analysis was that John was addressing a Jewish audience in this particular passage. Because of this, he did not have to explain what the Jewish terms that he used meant because he expected for his audience to already be familiar with them (such as the shepherd imagery). This is different from what he had to do in the rest of his Gospel because his audience transitioned to a gentile audience who were not familiar with Jewish terms.
This explication demonstrates my ability to closely analyze a passage in order to reveal meaning. I covered all of my bases in this text by responding to the major questions of who, what, when, where, and why. I believe this is a very important skill to have because sometimes a very close analysis is important in order to reveal meaning. The meaning of this text that I discovered after my analysis is that Jesus is the true leader and savior of all people (messiah) and that salvation is not limited to the Jewish alone. The ability to use precise language to critically analyze a text is one of my strengths that is revealed in this short explication.